›

Music-related neighbors?

m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
edited February 2007 in Strut Central
In my building, the guy who recently moved in upstairs to the right is a synthesizer wiz who used to work for Waldorf, a well-renowned german synth company. Now he's got his own company called High End Tentacles, selling top-of-the-line audio gear from Moog, Lynx, Sherman, Klein+Hummel, Tonelux a.o.The woman who lives downstairs to the left is singer in what would be called the "world/ethnic" genre. She is also a dancer and lived and studied with Fela Kuti and his entourage for a couple of years in the mid-nineties up to his death in '97. I didn't even know this until recently, when she casually told me in a random conversation. I'm definitely going to get her to tell me some eyewitness Fela stories soon. Just haven't had the time/opportunity yet.I think it's nice to have neighbors that you can somehow relate to when it comes to music. Anyone else got some cool (or annoying) musical neighbors?
«1

  Comments

  • behemothbehemoth 2,189 Posts
    my neighbor and good friend is Greg Van Gelder. grandson of Rudy Van Gelder (Blue Note fame). his jazz collection is deeeep and his whole family is down on the music tip. in fact, he owns a local music store. i have bought instruments from him for most of my life (if he carries it)..
  • gravelheadwrapgravelheadwrap corn 948 Posts
    In my building, the guy who recently moved in upstairs to the right is a synthesizer wiz who used to work for Waldorf, a well-renowned german synth company. Now he's got his own company called High End Tentacles, selling top-of-the-line audio gear from Moog, Lynx, Sherman, Klein+Hummel, Tonelux a.o.

    The woman who lives downstairs to the left is singer in what would be called the "world/ethnic" genre. She is also a dancer and lived and studied with Fela Kuti and his entourage for a couple of years in the mid-nineties up to his death in '97. I didn't even know this until recently, when she casually told me in a random conversation. I'm definitely going to get her to tell me some eyewitness Fela stories soon. Just haven't had the time/opportunity yet.

    I think it's nice to have neighbors that you can somehow relate to when it comes to music. Anyone else got some cool (or annoying) musical neighbors?

    please share when you find out more from her. both those two sound interesting.

    unfortunately i have no music-related neighbors.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I asked my neighbors (Middle Aged Nuyoricans) if they had wax. He knew I was fishin' for some Fania.
    He's not sellin' but I'm patient like a panther.
  • sabadabadasabadabada 5,966 Posts
    the kid downstairs from me plaid the recorder, but not for a while now. sometimes he sings real loud.
  • funkyexamplefunkyexample 915 Posts
    Band leader for BEP lives upstairs


    Also non music related
    From Mad TV

    From Weeds on Showtime

    Also the brother and sister of


    Kinda funny for only a 21 unit building.
  • erewhonerewhon 1,123 Posts
    My old landlord used to drop off a crate here and there that former tenants left behind. Then the well dried up and I moved.
  • GenePontecorvoGenePontecorvo 5,612 Posts

    From Mad TV


    "Who wants some buddah!?!?"

    I just have a neighbor who rents his back building out for practice space 2 nights a week. Yay.
  • DustbusterDustbuster 278 Posts
    Judy Torres used to live across the street from me. Every Saturday night a limo would come pick her up for what I assumed was a show. She still looked pretty good, and she could still fit into those glam-costumes.
  • fejmelbafejmelba 1,139 Posts
    my neighbor used to work at the polydor label and has loads of old promo stuff.he told me he allready sold the most of it 10 years ago when he needed the cash.
    he was also on the edison(dutch music award)jury for years. he showed his foto book of days gone buy. he mett greats like zappa, brown and burk and told stories of him getting drunk with tina turner.
  • DrWuDrWu 4,021 Posts
    Indy rock central. I rent to the guys in the Joggers next door. Chicks next to them are in some sort of band. The band the Shivers shot a lot of heroin next door (yes, breaking windows and small children in the mix). One of the other Monroe Street dads was the keyboardist for the 5 Fingers of Funk and currently tears up some Ethiopian Jazz on the side. Former drummer for the Dandy Warhols lived a few houses away a couple of years ago.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Currently the teen living across the street used to play bagpipes, now I see him walking around with a guitar.

    Rev Shines of Lifesavas used to work with me when he was just a little kid.

    When my shop was in a different location the boyfriend of the owner of the dress shop next door was Peter Boe. He used to play in local jazz groups before joining the Robert Cray Band just before they hit big. He later moved to the Bay Area to play with a band there. He rarely played cliched blues licks. Instead he stayed in the background playing chords that made the sound bigger, or more orchestral.

    When I lived in Syracuse my downstairs neighbor did sound. Once he was doing a jazz series in the park. Sun Ra was slatted to play. Be was all set up ready to do the sound check when Arkestra members started straggling in. He asked how many mics they would need where they wanted chairs, etc. They told him "Not sure how many guys will make it, it's a long drive". He's like, "damn! they come all the way from Saturn, and then complain about the drive up here". He did sound for Willie Colon and BB King shows I attended.

    At the same time I worked fixing suitcases with 2 guys who also did sound for a company that specialized in acoustic acts. They traveled with Michael Hedges and Nightnoise and Mary Black.

    A third guy in the luggage shop played in a Grateful Dead intimidator band. He used to bring in live tapes and say stupid stuff like "Listen to this guitar lick. I can just see Phil looking over at Jerry after he played that."

    He is the guy that I unwittingly made this comment to "They should get a second drummer some at least one person is keeping time". He gave me a withering look. "What?" I innocently asked. "They have two drummers." I had no idea. Sure can't tell by listening to endless hours of live tape. 2 guitars, 2 drums, bass, keys and no one can be bothered to play a back beat?

    When I was a little kid there was a band that practiced up the street. About 1967, they were called Salem and had a female vocalist and sounded like Jefferson Airplane. They morphed in to Sons Of Thunder of xian raer fame.

    Thats about it for my musical neighbors.
  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    the kid downstairs from me plaid[/b] the recorder

    ?
  • HairyBelafonteHairyBelafonte 1,202 Posts

    i just found out this past weekend that neighbor across the street owned a local record store in the seventies. he said he bought out a one-stop up north of here right before he closed his doors and claims 20-30,000 45s in his shed out back. said he'd let me look when the crap in the way is moved out. supposedly hasnt been touched since 1977? we'll see bout that....
  • G_BalliandoG_Balliando 3,916 Posts

    i just found out this past weekend that neighbor across the street owned a local record store in the seventies. he said he bought out a one-stop up north of here right before he closed his doors and claims 20-30,000 45s in his shed out back. said he'd let me look when the crap in the way is moved out. supposedly hasnt been touched since 1977? we'll see bout that....

    so, did you offer to move the shit out of the way for him? that sounds pretty promising. good luck.
  • spelunkspelunk 3,400 Posts

    i just found out this past weekend that neighbor across the street owned a local record store in the seventies. he said he bought out a one-stop up north of here right before he closed his doors and claims 20-30,000 45s in his shed out back. said he'd let me look when the crap in the way is moved out. supposedly hasnt been touched since 1977? we'll see bout that....

    If that is true......
  • phatmoneysackphatmoneysack Melbourne 1,124 Posts
    the kid downstairs from me plaid[/b] the recorder

    ?

    lol
  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    i put up some posters in my office last month and this dude next to me stops by. i swear to god dude is blunted as fuck urry doggone day--anyways, he tells me he has about 20,000 records mostly of the "spacey prog genre" that he collected while stationed in germany in the 70s. next words out of his mouth were, "you ever heard of can or faust?" ok, i'll admit, i soiled myself.

    i also overheard the security guard in our office building talking about how he's trying to transfer his LPs to CDs. i butted in and turns out the dude was real tight with lonnie listen smith back in the day. llsmith is from church hill, richmond.

    these stories are great.
  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    Grateful Dead intimidator band

  • gravelheadwrapgravelheadwrap corn 948 Posts
    i put up some posters in my office last month and this dude next to me stops by. i swear to god dude is blunted as fuck urry doggone day--anyways, he tells me he has about 20,000 records mostly of the "spacey prog genre" that he collected while stationed in germany in the 70s. next words out of his mouth were, "you ever heard of can or faust?" ok, i'll admit, i soiled myself.

    i also overheard the security guard in our office building talking about how he's trying to transfer his LPs to CDs. i butted in and turns out the dude was real tight with lonnie listen smith back in the day. llsmith is from church hill, richmond.

    these stories are great.

    thats dope.

    same thing sort of happened to me---im at work in the printmaking room at school, listening to Can---some kid's dad is visiting the school, happens to walk by the room and asks me which Can album is my favorite, etc. Pretty cool dad. haha
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    Well, funny this thread should come up.

    I just drove by Boz Scaggs' house (about six blocks from my parents' house)....and Dirty Low Down came on 98.1 FM just as I was passing the spot.

    SPOOKY.

  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
    I used to be studio manager for a photograper, and Ornette Coleman lived in the same building. I'd run into him in the elevator fairly often and ended up talking music a little bit in passing. One time he invited me up to play with his group at a rehearsal (I play guitar) but I was way too intimidated and insecure to actually do it.
  • asstroasstro 1,754 Posts
    I also lived in Williamsburgh from 1993-2005 and you couldn't walk down the street without running into some jerk in a "hot" band. The dude with the giant beard and 'fro from TV On The Radio worked in the local coffee shop for years.
  • tonyphronetonyphrone 1,500 Posts


    Karen O lives around the way. Much prettier in person.
  • pjl2000xlpjl2000xl 1,795 Posts
    unfortunately im the only musician on my street, which makes me hated by a good majority of my neighbors. Something about tuning drums at 4 am on a tues night, doesnt make too many friends.
  • PrimeCutsLtdPrimeCutsLtd jersey fresh 2,632 Posts
    My neighbor across the street plays guitar...He made a cd, which he gave to me. Reminded me of Michael Hedges on prozac.
  • Danno3000Danno3000 2,851 Posts
    My neighbour woke me up some months ago by blasting Neil Young at 3AM. I was annoyed.
  • DJ_ZestDJ_Zest 252 Posts
    Bob James happened to stop in to the Apple Specialist I work at one day (he has a place here in Traverse City, MI) and I got to shooting the shit with him about music, a few years later we are friends, I help him with his studio, we work on beats once in a while. He has an album called Angels of Shanghai (www.bobjames.com), and I made the beat/bassline/loops on the track "Dream with Me".

    What are the odds?
    Peace
    DJ Zest
  • PATXPATX 2,820 Posts
    Bob James happened to stop in to the Apple Specialist I work at one day (he has a place here in Traverse City, MI) and I got to shooting the shit with him about music, a few years later we are friends, I help him with his studio, we work on beats once in a while. He has an album called Angels of Shanghai (www.bobjames.com), and I made the beat/bassline/loops on the track "Dream with Me".

    What are the odds?
    Peace
    DJ Zest


    My girl's dad's family are from that area, not really that musical but her aunt in Grand Rapids wrote a hit for Barbara Lewis in 1965, on Atlantic I think.
  • street_muzikstreet_muzik 3,919 Posts
    My downstairs neighbors are in a band called VanGunn. Annoying 80's imitation cock rock. Technically they aren't bad but their style is pretty meh. Can't stand it myself. They are nice enough guys but I gotta knock on their door when it gets out of hand. They think this place is a music studio. I usually just unleash a barrage of bass when they really get on my nerves. But for real, Id rather have them there, than some quiet people. Then my music would be an annoyance to them.
  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    But for real, Id rather have them there, than some quiet people. Then my music would be an annoyance to them.



    I just moved into a new place and I hope this is the case with my adjacents.

    I was just walking down the street an hour ago and saw the one and only Mix Master Mike. Don't know if he lives around here tho.
Sign In or Register to comment.